• Bamidele, others link Oyebanji’s victory to innovation, technology
• Situation Room says ballot, result sheet discrepancies cloud Ekiti guber polls
• Raises concerns over voter apathy, BVAS glitches
• PDP’s candidate rejects polls’ outcome, says results didn’t reflect will of people

The British High Commission in Abuja has congratulated the people of Ekiti State and Governor Abiodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) following his re-election in the June 20 governorship polls.

In an official statement yesterday, the UK government praised the overall peaceful and orderly conduct of the election, marking it as the first major electoral test under the newly enacted Electoral Act 2026.

The UK observation team, while applauding the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies for their positive collaboration, highlighted several critical structural and technical vulnerabilities that need urgent attention ahead of future polls.

It, however, noted significant strides in the election’s execution, particularly emphasising peaceful conduct.

The High Commission urged Nigerian authorities to address structural gaps before the upcoming Osun State off-cycle election and the 2027 general elections.

Relatedly, the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, political analysts and campaign insiders have attributed a significant part of Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s victory in the just-concluded Ekiti State governorship election to the deployment of technology, data analytics and strategic voter engagement by political consulting and campaign management firm, Monan Innovation.

Bamidele, who spoke on the firm’s role, described Monan Innovation as a team of innovative young professionals leveraging technology to strengthen political campaigns and voter engagement.

He noted that one of the firm’s major assignments was to identify registered voters and help the campaign to establish direct contact with them.

Also, the Chief Executive Officer of Monan Innovation, Moji Yakubu, said the objective was to make political engagement more strategic and evidence-based.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room has raised concerns over discrepancies between ballot papers and result sheets used in Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State, describing the inconsistencies as issues that could undermine confidence in the electoral process.

The organisation also expressed concerns over voter apathy and technical glitches associated with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) during the election.

Co-Convener of the Situation Room, Celestine Odo, at a media briefing in Abuja yesterday, said the election was generally peaceful but marred by low voter turnout and isolated operational challenges.

According to Odo, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had earlier communicated that 14 political parties would participate in the governorship election.

He, however, said ballot papers used for the polls contained 19 political parties, while result sheets reflected 15 parties.

He said the discrepancies created confusion among voters.

However, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Ekiti State election, Wole Oluyede, has rejected the outcome of the polls, saying that it didn’t reflect the will of the electorate.

The Oluyede Campaign Organisation, in a statement by its Director, Media and Communications, Sanya Atofarati, alleged that INEC, in respect of the election, was thoroughly compromised.

Atofarati said that throughout the election, PDP agents, supporters and numerous voters reported widespread irregularities, including vote buying, voter intimidation, harassment of opposition supporters, and other practices that undermined the sanctity of the electoral process.